Upcoming Exhibition: June 8, 2024 – June 29, 2024
Marco Sánchez, born in Ciudad Juarez in 1983, is a visual artist based in El Paso, Texas; he received his B.F.A. from the University of Texas El Paso with a double concentration in Painting and Printmaking. Sanchez received his MFA in Printmaking from the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in May 2020. He has worked primarily in the Southwestern United States, but he has also participated in residencies throughout Mexico, including Mexico City, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Queretaro, and in Cleveland at Zygote Press, where he also acts as a juror for BIPOC fellowship applicants. Sánchez is an educator and was elected as a Mellow Foundation Fellow with the Humanities for the 2022-2023 academic year, in partnership with the University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College for his research project Witnessing the Evolution of El Paso Through Oral Histories.
Sánchez currently serves as a Lecturer Professor at El Paso Community College, where he teaches Printmaking, Life Drawing, Drawing I, and Art Appreciation. He is also a Mellow Foundation Fellow in partnership with UTEP and EPCC. He has also worked as a contract Art Preparator for the El Paso Museum of History, The Rubin Center at UTEP, and as a teaching artist of printmaking at the El Paso Museum of Art.
Marco Sánchez’s studio practice is primarily conducted via printmaking; he’s also versed in oil painting, drawing, woodworking, and mixed media. His studio investigations have ranged from his familial relationships, as well as with his mentors and peers, to his cultural background, folklore, and blue-collar laborers. Sanchez believes artists are responsible for displaying solidarity with marginalized peoples and bringing attention to sociopolitical issues. Those range from the migration crisis and militarization of the border to pushing back against oppressive and supremacist groups. Sánchez is also the Founder and Director of Taller La Espina and El Paso Print Pachanga.
Artist Statement
La Frontera of Juarez and El Paso is the largest metropolitan area in the Chihuahuan desert, often overlooked and maligned. In his current work, Sánchez examines the nuances of life in this Binational region where he was born & raised and continues to explore while developing a greater affinity for the region. Sánchez illustrates the vibrant life of the border using its flora, fauna, and the resiliency of the many groups of people who live, pass through, and are in pursuit of a better life; for many, that starts here as part of Miscelánea Fronteriza.